Awaken (10 page)

His gaze slid toward me. I looked away.

“Can I help you?” the woman behind the desk
asked.

I hesitated. I couldn’t hope to sneak past
them all.

“Yeah, um…” I glanced to the cop again, and
tried to keep my voice low. “I’m here to see the girl who was
brought in a bit ago. The one who’d been hit in the head?”

“And you are?”

“A friend.”

The caution on her face was blatant. “Well,
I’m sorry, but she already has visitors and only two people are
allowed to see a patient at a time.”

“I won’t be in the way. Please, I just want
to check on her.”

She glanced to the police officer by the
doors and then back to me. “I told you. No more than two visitors
at a time. Now, if you want to wait, I’ll need to see some
identification. Otherwise…”

Her eyebrow raised pointedly.

I looked back at the cop. Identification was
out of the question and waiting wouldn’t do any good. The girl
could be dying. I only needed a few uninterrupted seconds to maybe
change that.

Slowly, I let out a breath. There was one
way. It was illegal. And wrong. But if I only used a little, the
woman would most likely be fine and recover long before anything
turned life-threatening.

And I could really be running out of
time.

Trying not to feel like a bastard, I turned
back to her and smiled. “Listen,” I glanced down at her name tag.
“Becky? I, um…”

I reached out fast, taking her hand. Her brow
drew down in alarm and she jerked back, attempting to pull away,
but the small twist of magic had already touched her skin.

Her expression flickered with confusion, and
then melted into the sort of adoration that only the truly sick
among us dehaians would enjoy.

I made myself keep smiling as I let the magic
carry through my voice as well. “I need to get in there. Can you
open the door?”

She frowned, still fighting it, and then her
head twitched in a nod. Her hand fumbled for the button, and the
doors swung back to let me through.

“Thank you,” I said, feeling nauseated.

The police officer watched me as I walked
past. A desk formed the corner of two adjoining halls ahead, and
beside it, I could see the girl from the store and another woman,
both of them talking anxiously to a doctor. Curtains enclosed the
space behind them, though a second later, a nurse pushed the fabric
aside to carry out a tray, revealing the girl lying on a bed.

I hesitated. I could feel the police
officer’s gaze still on my back, and if I headed straight for her,
he’d be certain to stop me. But another curtained area was not too
far away, and through a gap in the fabric, I could see that it was
empty.

Trying to look purposeful, I marched inside.
A few heartbeats passed, and then I leaned my head out again.

The cop had turned back toward the waiting
room, and the doors were swinging closed behind him. I looked to
the women and the doctor. He was taking them to a lighted wall
panel farther down the adjoining corridor, where transparent black
sheets showed side views of a human skull.

I strode down the hall and slid into the
curtained space holding the girl.

She looked like hell. Tubes ran from her nose
and arms to plastic bags on wheeled poles and beeping machines on
the wall. Beneath the bandages wrapping her head, one side of her
face was puffy, the skin blue and purple and red in turns, and the
other side bore a vicious gash surrounded by swelling of its
own.

I couldn’t keep myself from staring as I
crossed to her bedside. It didn’t make sense. She electrocuted the
water, yes. She wasn’t like anyone I’d ever seen, dehaian or
otherwise.

But why would someone do
this
to
her?

Exhaling sharply, I forced myself to focus.
Reaching into my bag, I tugged out the container of sieranchine and
then thumbed the lid from its top. With a quick glance to the
curtain enclosing us, I pulled a shirt out as well. Covering my
fingers with the fabric, I scooped the shimmering gel out before
setting the container on the wheeled stand nearby. Turning her arm
over gently, I wiped the wet shirt across the inside of her arm,
testing her reaction.

Her skin glistened, gaining a hint of golden
iridescence that faded almost as quickly as it had come.

But she didn’t go into shock or show any sign
of a negative response.

I doused the shirt with medicine again and
swiped it across her face and neck and every bit of uncovered skin
I could reach.

She stirred on the bed with a soft sigh.

I stepped away and shoved the t-shirt and
container back into my bag. My skin tingled as a bit of the
sieranchine touched it, and hastily, I wiped my hand on my shirt.
I’d probably end up with a killer headache just from that contact –
strong really was an understatement for that stuff – but that was a
problem for later.

Her bruises were already diminishing. The
gash on her cheek seemed less red, and the swelling appeared to be
going down.

I let out a breath and then glanced to the
curtain again. She’d be alright. I’d still get answers to all my
questions – eventually, anyway – and she’d be alright.

Now for getting out of here.

Cautiously, I peered around the edge of the
curtain. By the lighted panel, the women and the doctor still
discussed something. Slipping across the adjoining hall, I walked
quickly back toward the waiting area and past the cop, heading for
the exit.

Across the room, the doors to the outside
opened. An ambulance sat in the driveway, its lights flashing,
while doctors rushed by the sliding door, a stretcher with an old
man on it between them and a dozen other people trailing
behind.

All of whom were now blocking my path.

“H-hey wait,” Becky called to me from the
reception desk, her voice vague with confusion. “You weren’t… you
shouldn’t have been…”

My heart hit my throat and I made a sharp
turn for the hall that I’d taken through the hospital a few minutes
before. I’d really held back earlier. The effects were wearing off
faster than I’d expected.

Which meant Becky would be fine and that was
great.

Except now she was calling out to the
cop.

I rounded the corner, barely keeping from
running as I retraced my steps to the main exit. I hadn’t seen any
police near the hospital entrance, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t
call any to come stop me. I’d just been in the water, and thus
could probably handle even two or three weeks out of it, but that
wouldn’t fix all the other issues being taken into custody would
create.

There had to be another way out of here.

I strode down the hall, cursing the hospital
maze.

“Hey you!”

I didn’t look back. Through a glass door
ahead, I could see daylight and I hurried toward it. Footsteps
pounded down the hall behind me. I shoved the crossbar on the door
and rushed out into the fresh air.

And then I ran.

I could hear the cop shouting, first at me
and then into his radio, but I’d already reached the corner.
Veering around the turn, I took off down the next street.
Intersections appeared and fell behind me in rapid succession, and
people stumbled away in surprise as I sped by. Over the whistle of
the wind in my ears, I listened for sirens, grateful not to hear
any until I’d finally reached the road opposite the beach.

And by then, it was really too late for
them.

I dashed across the sand and into the water,
leaving Santa Lucina behind.

Chapter Nine

I woke to the sound of beeping and the
feeling of way too many pillows under my back. The smell of
antiseptic stung my nose and the air had a strange dryness that I
couldn’t place. Wincing at the glare of sunlight, I opened my
eyes.

Medical equipment stood next to me, and I was
lying on a bed surrounded by metal rails. Baylie was curled in an
armchair nearby, her face red as though she’d been crying, while
Diane sat near her, one hand rubbing Baylie’s shoulder. On the far
side of the room, Noah and his dad were talking with a gray-haired
doctor.

My brow furrowed in confusion. I’d been at
the bookstore. We’d gone to see Maddox. I’d walked back to check
out the books and …

I looked back at the doctor.

“–amazing improvement, considering her
earlier condition,” he was saying in a low voice. “If she wakes up
soon, we should–”

“Hey,” Baylie interrupted, catching sight of
me. She shoved away from the armchair and hurried to the bedside,
relief clear on her face.

Noah and the others turned around. Stepping
past them, the doctor came over.

“Hello,” he said. “My name is Doctor
Michaelson. How are you feeling?”

I hesitated. “My head hurts.”

He nodded understandingly. “You had a bit of
an accident. Your head was hit. I’d like to ask you a few
questions, though, just to test how your memory is doing. Is that
alright?”

Behind him, I saw Noah look away, muscles
working beneath his jaw, while Diane had entangled her fingers so
tightly together, her knuckles were white.

“Okay…” I allowed.

“Could you tell me your full name?”

“Chloe Marie Kowalski.”

He smiled. “When’s your birthday, Chloe?”

“August twelfth.”

“Just in time for school, eh?”

“Yeah.”

His smile remained. “Now, what can you tell
me about what happened to you, Chloe? What do you remember?”

I paused. We’d been at the bookstore. I’d
been walking around, one of the employees had asked if I needed
anything, and…

I drew a sharp breath. Something had
happened. Something bad.

Shaking my head, I shied away from the
memory. “I-I don’t…”

“It’s okay,” the doctor interjected. He
glanced back at the others. “It might start coming back in a bit.
Don’t push it.”

I swallowed. Everyone else looked worried. Or
angry. Really,
really
angry.

“What happened?” I pressed.

They all looked to the doctor. He hesitated a
moment, and then nodded.

“One of the store employees went psycho,”
Noah said, his voice nearly a growl. His father put a hand to his
shoulder, and Noah gritted his teeth, looking away.

“He attacked you,” Baylie supplied, sounding
choked. “He just–”

“The police think he was one of the people
involved in those kidnappings,” Diane continued for her. “And since
you… well, honey, you look a bit like the other girls who are
missing. The police think he must’ve believed he had the
opportunity to take you too. But now that they know who he is,
they’re searching his house, and they have people looking for him
everywhere. He won’t get away.”

I stared at her.

“That’s probably enough for now,” the doctor
said. “You’re safe here, Chloe. That’s the important thing. So now
I just want you to focus on getting well.”

Feeling like he was nuts, I didn’t say
anything. Someone had attacked me? And now I was supposed to forget
that?

He’d grabbed my mouth.

The memory flashed through my head, vivid and
clear.

He’d put his arm around my chest and dragged
me up from the ground. I hadn’t been able to fight him. I’d wanted
to; he’d just been so strong.

So incredibly strong.

“Chloe,” the doctor said.

I blinked, my heart racing as I looked back
at him.

“You’re safe.”

Swallowing, I nodded.

He gave me an understanding smile. “Your
friends are going to stay here with you, alright? And if you keep
doing this well, we’ll have you home in a few days.”

“Okay,” I said.

He patted my arm and then headed for the
door. Peter followed him out.

Diane came over to the bed. “Get some sleep,
honey. You’re doing really well, but the doctor says sleep could
help you more than anything.”

I glanced from her to Baylie and Noah. “They
didn’t catch him?”

Diane hesitated. “They will. But the doctor’s
right. We’re all going to be here. He won’t get near you again.”
She put a hand to my shoulder. “Just sleep.”

My brow furrowed, but I turned my face toward
the pillow, trying to do as she asked. Truth was, though, I wasn’t
tired. Not really. Instead, I just felt tingly, like between all
the medicines the doctors had probably given me, I could almost
feel my body fixing itself.

And I didn’t want to close my eyes
anyway.

I watched the window. The others wouldn’t let
him near me. I knew that. I hated relying on them for protection,
hated being this scared, but I knew they’d keep me safe.

Though it wasn’t like any of us could have
known the guy was somebody to fear.

I drew a breath, working to stay calm like
everyone had ordered.

He’d just looked so
ordinary
. Awkward
and pale, maybe, like a frail bookworm who spent more time reading
than he did with girls or out in the sun. But mostly, he’d just
seemed like a normal guy.

And when he’d grabbed me, he’d been anything
but. Strong. So stupidly strong, with his face twisted like he’d
hated me with everything in his being. And his eyes…

I shivered, the memory coming back.

They’d changed. Not at first, but as he
grabbed me, the watery color had transformed.

Into brilliant, glowing blue.

Just like the boy from the ocean.

~~~~~

I climbed from the car into the late
afternoon sunlight, and tried to ignore the way everyone watched me
to see if I’d fall. It’d been three days since I’d ended up in the
hospital, and finally Doctor Michaelson had given his okay for me
to go home.

It couldn’t have come too soon. I appreciated
all that the hospital staff had done and everything, but if I had
to spend one more minute being watched and checked and worried
over, I thought I’d lose my mind.